David Cameron today defended Eric Pickles’ letter, co-signed by Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, which was sent out to 1,000 Muslim leaders saying it was ‘absolutely right’.
The letter has divided opinion with some welcoming it but with others branding it ‘patronising’.
Speaking today in Ipswich about employment the Prime Minister said that everyone had a duty to tackle extremism.
He said: “All of us have a responsibility to try and confront this radicalisation and make sure that we stop young people being drawn into this poisonous fanatical death cult.”
Secretary General of The Muslim Council of Britain, Dr Shuja Shafi, has replied to the letter stating that although it was written ‘in good faith’ there were some problems with it.
It read: “We do take issue with the implication that extremism takes place at mosques, and that Muslims have not done enough to challenge the terrorism that took place in our name.”
This was published on the same day that Streatham MP Chuka Umunna stormed out of a TV interview after the presenter suggested he wouldn’t comment on the letter because he was unaware of Labour’s stance.
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